The use of child safety seats for the safe restraint of infants and children in vehicles is well known. For the safety and comfort of an infant or child, and also to comply with applicable laws requiring the use of child safety seats for children of specified ages, child safety seats now are commonly removed from the family vehicle and taken along on travels. For example, a child's child safety seat may be used for the child in a rental car on the family vacation. In addition, child safety seats commonly may be used in other modes of transportation, such as airplanes, buses, boats, or trains, to provide a safer and more comfortable seat for young children.
Such use of child safety seats away from the family vehicle thus requires the transport of the child safety seats through airport terminals, bus stations, train stations, boat terminals, and the like. The typical infant or child safety seat is quite bulky, of an awkward shape, and may weigh between ten and twenty pounds. Thus the physical size, structure, and weight of the child safety seat make it difficult to carry and for most persons, require the use of both hands. This is particularly necessary if the child safety seat is carried for a substantial distance.
Various devices have been developed to assist with the transport of child safety seats, including a wide variety of bags, totes, and cases. Typically these travel bags comprise a zippered sack, with a handle and/or shoulder strap. The child safety seat may be placed in the sack and then carried from the family vehicle to baggage check, or onto the airplane, bus, etc.
Alternatively, some models of child safety seats are provided with wheels and a handle, essentially converting the child safety seat into a stroller so that it can be wheeled through an airport or other area. In addition, stroller-type attachments are made for child safety seats, again converting the child safety seat to a stroller-like apparatus that can be wheeled to its destination.
A child young enough to require the use of a child safety seat may also be too young to walk any considerable distance through an airport terminal, train station, etc. This generally requires that the child also be carried, typically in a stroller, a backpack or front carrier, or simply in the guardian's arms. In addition, travel with young children generally entails transporting various other equipment, such as diaper bags. As a result, persons transporting young children while traveling must potentially negotiate a number of large, awkward items, in addition to the child.
A prior solution in which the wheels and handle are separately formed and attached to a child safety seat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,821. Solutions in which the wheels and handle are formed in one unit separable from the child safety seat are disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0192925 A1, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,729,630 and 6,783,135. Finally, commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,991,241 shows a child safety seat dolly having a clamping bracket which secures the dolly to a child safety seat.